Asthma

Living in a food desert - an urban area where it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food - means you're at increased risk to have asthma. Children who were studied who did not have access to fresh fruits ...

An unprecedented "thunderstorm asthma" event has left four people dead and three fighting for their lives in Australia, with authorities Thursday scrambling to review their procedures after emergency services were overwhelmed.

Kids need flu shots to prevent asthma flares, and medications available in school to keep 86 percent in class, according to two studies being presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual ...

Curiosity is a driving factor in why most kids start smoking, and the same is true for kids with asthma. A study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting found ...

More than a week after a rare condition known as thunderstorm asthma struck Australia's second-largest city the death toll has risen to eight with one other person on life support, officials said on Tuesday.

A recent study of 577 children living in Puerto Rico shows that residential distance to a major road (a marker of exposure to traffic-related air pollution, or TRAP) is associated with increased plasma levels of interleukin ...

Experts are warning of a significant increase in the number of people in the UK who are living with invasive and serious fungal diseases that affect the lungs, bloodstream and brain and can sometimes lead to death.

Working with human immune cells in the laboratory, Johns Hopkins researchers report they have identified a critical cellular "off" switch for the inflammatory immune response that contributes to lung-constricting asthma attacks. ...

The death toll from Australia's "thunderstorm asthma" episode has risen to six and three others are in critical condition, authorities said Sunday, as they assessed the fallout from the unprecedented event.

A new report recommends that the Trump Administration take action to revise existing Internal Revenue Service (IRS) policies governing community benefit spending by tax-exempt hospitals in order to encourage greater hospital ...

Allergy and immunology experts at Rush University Medical Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago have conducted the first study designed to assess and ...

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed a method that stops allergic reactions by removing a key receptor from mast cells and basophils. Their work has implications ...

Asthma (from the Greek άσθμα, ásthma, "panting") is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. Asthma is clinically classified according to the frequency of symptoms, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), and peak expiratory flow rate. Asthma may also be classified as atopic (extrinsic) or non-atopic (intrinsic).

It is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Treatment of acute symptoms is usually with an inhaled short-acting beta-2 agonist (such as salbutamol). Symptoms can be prevented by avoiding triggers, such as allergens and irritants, and by inhaling corticosteroids. Leukotriene antagonists are less effective than corticosteroids and thus less preferred.

Its diagnosis is usually made based on the pattern of symptoms and/or response to therapy over time. The prevalence of asthma has increased significantly since the 1970s. As of 2010, 300 million people were affected worldwide. In 2009 asthma caused 250,000 deaths globally. Despite this, with proper control of asthma with step down therapy, prognosis is generally good.

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